Margaret suffered from Sjoren's syndrome, which is an autoimmune disease. Recently, pancreatitis and three fractured vertebrae made her health situation even more precarious. The pain was becoming unbearable.
]]> She called her children back home to tell them goodbye. She then left a note, took sleeping pills mixed with applesauce, and placed a plastic bag over her head. Her husband was by her side the entire time.When the police arrived, they had no choice but to arrest him. The District Attorney has not yet decided on whether to prosecute him, writes the Times.
Prosecutors often pursue cases like this for the sake of deterrence. Alan Purdy’s case is one noble extreme. Those who stand to gain from their spouse’s suicide are on the other end of the spectrum. In between is a morass of non-terminal illnesses and mixed motives.
What is the current stat of the law? In California, assisted suicide is a felony offense. The statute prohibits deliberately aiding, encouraging, or assisting suicide.
In 2007, a failed effort was made to pass a law that would allow physician-assisted suicide and would allow HMOs to pay for drugs meant to end a patient’s suffering. Proponents cited compassion. Opponents cited HMOs saving money and the Hippocratic Oath, reports the Patients Rights Council.
In 2008, Governor Schwarzenegger signed a bill into law that required physicians to provide patients with a terminal illness “comprehensive information and counseling regarding legal end-of-life options, as specified,” reports CNS News.
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Shaw was killed in an odd case of mistaken identity. Espinoza, eager to earn his stripes, gunned down Shaw because he was wearing a red Spiderman backpack and Espinoza assumed he was a member of the Bloods.
]]> In order to have the death penalty as an option, certain aggravating circumstances have to be met. Gang-related activities, multiple victims, or a prior murder conviction are all examples.In California, the trial is bifurcated, meaning that it has two phases. The first stage of the trial is the guilt phase. The second phase is the sentencing phase. Much of the evidence to be presented in the second phase will probably be address Espinoza's gang affiliation, any prior violent criminal behavior, and include victim impact statements.
According to CBS Los Angeles, Espinoza had an altercation with a fellow inmate where he hid a shank and badly slashed another inmate.
The victim's family is in favor of the death penalty for Espinoza. Shaw's father told the LA Times, "we want the death penalty bad. We want to set a precedent."
Whether or not he is sentenced to the death penalty, Espinoza's odds of ever actually getting executed seem to be slim at this point. Only 13 inmates have been executed since the death penalty was reinstated in 1978.
The Savings, Accountability, and Full Enforcement for California Act, or SAFE California Act, will be voted upon by our state's residents in November. If passed, it will eliminate the death penalty and reportedly save over $100 million.
Should Espinoza receive the death penalty, and SAFE California pass, he would likely end up in serving a life sentence in general population anyway.
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The latest cuts, released today by Jerry Brown, include another $544 million in cuts to the court system, reports the Los Angeles Times. Over the last three years, the system has already endured $650 million in cuts.
]]> The increased cuts are a result of a ballooning deficit that has reached $16 billion, which is nearly twice what the governor projected back in January.What effect will this have on the court system? According to the Los Angeles Times, construction on new courthouses should grind to a halt. The new courthouses are meant to replace the dilapidated existing buildings. It might also affect the system's capacity to handle lawsuits and prosecute crime.
The California Chief Justice, Tani Cantil-Sakauye called the cuts "devastating and disheartening," and warned that they would "compromise the public's access to their courts and our ability to provide equal access to justice throughout the state."
Earlier budget cuts had already put certain counties in a frenzied state, including Riverside County, reports KESQ.com. According to Riverside County Presiding Judge Sherrill Ellsworth, Riverside County should have 140 to 160 judges. They only had about 50.
Less judges and less of a budget means more delays in prosecuting crimes. This may mean more cases dismissed due to speedy trial violations. Defendants are guaranteed a speedy jury trial by the constitution. Violations mean a guilty defendant could walk free due solely due to budget cuts and backlog.
One does begin to wonder at what point will the budget cuts begin to force offices to stop prosecuting certain crimes or allow criminals to escape prison due to delays in trials or lack of funding for jails or prisons.
The system can only take so many cuts before it collapses.
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According to the Los Angeles Times, Officer Yanez's original case came after he allegedly hit on a teenager while on patrol. Yanez then solicited explicit photographs of the victim via electronic messages. The victim eventually reported the incident to a School Resource officer, which started the investigation.
]]> As part of the original investigation, Yanez's computer data and phone records were obtained and investigated. The information obtained apparently led to more victims and the new charges.Arranging to meet a minor for lewd purposes, also known as Penal Code Section 288.4, is couched in semi-vague language involving motivation "by an unnatural or abnormal sexual interest in children."
The statute basically boils down to a prohibition on meeting children, minors, or someone the person believes is a minor for sexual conduct or behavior.
The punishment for that charge alone is a fine of up to $5,000, plus up to a year in jail. Had he actually shown up to the meeting, the penalty would have increased to a prison sentence of two, three, or four years.
In total, Noe Yanez faces 39 criminal counts from allegations of multiple relationships with underage girls dating back to 2008. Some of the charges go beyond mere photographs. He is accused of unlawful sexual intercourse, oral copulation, and false imprisonment, amongst other things, reports the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.
He remains on suspension from the police department pending the resolution of his cases.
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Twenty-three-year-old Pedro Espinoza, a member of the notorious 18th Street gang, was trying to make a name for himself. He had "BK" tattooed on the side of his neck. B.K. supposedly stands for "Blood Killer."
]]> According to the LA Times, the prosecutor stated in her closing argument that it was simply a case of mistaken identity. Espinoza saw a young black teenager, with a bright red Spiderman backpack, and assumed he was a member of the Rollin 20's Bloods.Espinoza shouted "Where you from?" He then allegedly fired one shot, which hit Shaw in the stomach, and then walked around his body and fired a second round into his head, execution style.
"Yeah, I'm a killer, like 'Kid,'" Espinoza stated as he got back into a car with a fellow gang member. Kid was a notorious 18th Streeter who killed multiple gang members and cops, reports the LA Times.
The defense, in their closing remarks, tried to point out some inconsistencies. There was no murder weapon recovered. Witnesses said that the shooter was wearing a black pull-over sweatshirt. Espinoza was spotted that night in a light colored t-shirt.
His attorney also questioned whether a guilty man would check in with his parole officer days later and register with the LAPD as a gang member.
It remains to be seen if those minor inconsistencies will be enough to save Espinoza from the death penalty. The jury is currently deliberating on first degree murder charges with special circumstances for associating with a street gang.
Conviction of first degree murder requires premeditation. This can be evidenced by planning the crime in advance, or in this case, by the delay between the first shot and the second. Between the two shots, Espinoza walked around the body and carefully placed the second shot.
That would might be enough time to qualify as premeditated. On the other hand, if the jury finds that this was a spur of the moment crime of passion, it would be second-degree murder, which is not a capital offense.
The special gang-related circumstances elevate the potential punishment from life imprisonment to a possible death penalty capital murder case. However, sentencing is done in a separate proceeding, if Pedro Espinoza is found guilty of Jamiel Shaw's murder.
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The sting operation is simple. A red Cadillac Escallade is left running, keys in the ignition. Deputies wait to ambush whichever unsuspecting car thief attempts to steal the vehicle. And 28-year-old Keenan Alex, on probation for another offense, fell for it.
]]> At trial, while under oath, Detective Anthony Shapiro testified that he did in fact read the suspect his Miranda rights. The rights, which spring from a 1966 U.S. Supreme Court case, require officers to inform the suspect of certain basic rights when taking the suspect into custody.We’ve all heard the rights read on television. This is exactly what Detective Shapiro thought as well. Instead of reading the suspect his rights, he asked him, “You watch TV. You know your rights and all that?”
Whoops. And it was all caught on tape by TruTV’s “Bait Car.”
Usually, what happens when there is a failure to read someone their Miranda rights, is that any statements made by that suspect are then thrown out. If there is sufficient evidence, other than the statements and any evidence obtained as a result of the statements, then the case can still be prosecuted.
For Mr. Alex, that meant he was a free man. The District Attorney felt that there was not enough evidence, outside of the statements made by Alex, to counteract the defense arguments about mental illness.
For Det. Shapiro, in addition to possibly losing his job, it could mean perjury charges for lying under oath. Perjury is a felony offense, which carries a hefty prison term. However, conviction requires that the defendant knowingly lied. A mere mistake, as is quite possible here, will not suffice for a conviction.
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Police say that Trujillo stabbed the girl multiple times and then turned the knife on himself. The grisly murder scene was made worse with words written in blood on a shipping container next to the bodies, reports the Los Angeles Times.
]]> Though it is unclear at this point what the source of the claims are, he has also been charged with five counts of oral copulation or sexual penetration with a child under the age of 10 involving Fernandez. The sex crimes allegedly occurred between November 1, 2011 and last Saturday, when the murder suicide attempt occurred.The child's mother stated that Trujillo had done nothing to her, or any of her children, prior to the murder. Other relatives have reported increasing mental instability brought on by alleged drug use.
In order to have the death penalty as an option, the defendant will have to be convicted of first degree murder. Such a conviction requires special circumstances, such as murder of a police officer, murder for financial gain, or murder of a witness to prevent testimony. The latter is what has been alleged here.
If convicted of first degree murder, Trujillo faces either the death penalty or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. He also faces 15 years to life on each of the molestation charges.
Though it may seem redundant to charge him with both the capital murder offense and five counts of sex abuse, doing so greatly increases the odds of him spending the rest of his life in prison. There has not yet been any indication on what defense he plans to bring, but even if he tries to plead insanity in regards to his stepdaughter's murder, it's going to be incredibly difficult to prove insanity on the five molestation charges. Each of those can also net a life sentence.
If convicted, the odds of Jacinto Trujillo ever seeing daylight again as a free man are are slim to none.
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Around 9 a.m., the unidentified man walked into the Emergency Room and stated that he needed help and had a bomb. The E.R. staff, noticing wires coming from the device, scanned it with a portable x-ray machine and determined that it was a credible threat.
]]> At 9:18 a.m., deputies from the Sheriff's department evacuated the emergency room. Incoming patients were diverted to the other side of the hospital and incoming helicopters were sent to the Arrowhead Regional Medical Center.Two hours later, at about 11 a.m., the bomb squad removed the man and the device and examined the device in a parking garage. After determining that the device was inert, the emergency room was reopened and the man was taken in for a mental examination.
The fact that he was immediately taken for a mental examination makes one wonder if he is going to even be competent enough to be punished for his actions. It is unconstitutional to make someone stand trial if they are so mentally impaired that they cannot understand the charges against them and assist in their defense. If he is too far gone to be tried, he'll likely be held in a psychiatric hospital until he is competent to stand trial.
Should be prove competent to stand trial, he faces up to a year in jail or state prison for his false bomb threat. The penal code provision covers knowingly making false bomb threats, as well as showing up with a fake device.
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The incident allegedly stemmed from an argument about Hill’s future with his girlfriend, reports ABC 13 Houston. His girlfriend stated that she threw his cell phone to the floor. Hill allegedly became enraged, assaulted her, and then placed her in a chokehold when she refused to pick up the phone off the floor. The police have obtained photos from her friend which they say corroborate the story.
]]> Hill's twitter account responded to the charges with "Wowwwww" and "Unbelievable!!!!!!!!," though Kobe Bryant's twitter account has been fully supportive.Intimate Partner Strangulation in Texas was elevated to a felony from a misdemeanor back in 2009. It is defined as "intentionally, knowingly or recklessly impeding the normal breathing or circulation of the blood of the person by applying pressure to the person's throat or neck or by blocking the person's nose or mouth." The assault can be against a family member or anyone in a dating relationship with the perpetrator. The penalty, if Hill is convicted, can range from 2-10 years, plus fines and fees. However, it is also quite possible that a plea bargain could be reached, in which case he would face far less severe penalties.
For the Lakers, this could not have come at a worse time. The team is currently in the playoffs and Jordan Hill has emerged as a contributor over the last few games, after being nearly invisible during his first month with the team. However, this is also the same organization that once allowed Kobe Bryant to use the team's private jet to shuttle back and forth between Los Angeles and Colorado during his rape trial back in 2003-2004.
Former Laker players Kwame Brown and Derrick Character were also reportedly charged with crimes during Lakers' recent playoff runs, so the team does have some experience dealing with these types of distractions. The team has declined to comment on the matter.
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This time though, they allegedly didn’t look close enough, reports the Los Angeles Times. Four TSA agents, two of which were still with the agency, were arrested in Los Angeles Thursday for allegedly taking bribes to pass drug smugglers through the Los Angeles International Airport security lines. John Whitfield, Joy White and Caperline McKinney were allegedly led by Naral Richardson, who devised the plan.
]]> Smugglers would call the agents on provided cell phones. The agents would direct the smuggler to their security line and then X-ray their bags. The smuggler would claim that they had a pacemaker, which ensures a pat down. This also apparently prevents you from having your bag randomly screened. They would then meet in the bathroom, where the smuggler would hand over hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars.The event that may have prompted the investigation was when a smuggler, Duane Eleby, went through the wrong line and was discovered. He was released shortly thereafter and two weeks later, undercover agents started catching the smugglers via a planned sting operation.
According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, the four TSA agents have been charged with a multitude of crimes, including offering and receiving bribes, conspiracy, and drug possession. They face a minimum of ten years and a maximum of a life sentence.
Conviction for a charge of conspiracy requires that the prosecutor prove that there was an agreement amongst two or more people to commit some illegal act and that there was some action taken in furtherance of that crime.
For the four TSA agents, the agreement to assist in smuggling would suffice for the first part. This can be proven easily, through the testimony of a snitch on a favorable plea bargain, or through the testimony of the undercover agents.
For the second part, the act in furtherance element, any significant action would suffice. Even something as dumb as purchasing the prepaid phones would qualify, though it sounds as if they have a lot more dirt than that on each of the agents.
LAX's lax security has riders and agents on edge. For those of you with actual pacemakers or other conditions requiring a pat down, expect to be tickled even more in the immediate future.
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Herzog, when he heard of Shermantine’s plan to give up the locations, hung himself. Shermantine is giving up the information after being paid $33,000 from a bounty hunter. To date, four victims have been identified by name, one remains a Jane Doe, and there could be as many as 72 in total.
]]> Though Shermantine has been on death row since being sentenced in 2001, he stands little chance of ever being executed. Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1978, California's inefficient capitol punishment system has only executed 13 inmates. Meanwhile, ongoing legal challenges to execution procedures and the condition of the death chamber have put a hold on all executions since 2006.Perhaps knowing that the odds of him ever actually being executed were almost nil, Shermantine passed up the opportunity to take a life sentence without the possibility of parole once before. That opportunity might be on its way back.
The Savings, Accountability, and Full Enforcement for California Act, or SAFE California Act, has been placed on the ballot for November, reports Politico, after collecting more than 504,760 signatures. The measure would eliminate the death penalty and death row and reportedly save over $100 million.
The 725 prisoners on death row would likely be shifted to life sentences without the possibility of parole, served in the general population. This would also require them to work a prison job, which they currently do not do.
The only question left for Wesley Shermantine is, what will he do with that television he reportedly purchased with part of the bounty money if or when he is taken off death row?
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However, Garrison has jabbed back, stating that he did in fact break Mattingly’s phone, but it was a juvenile reaction to her breaking his phone first. He has also stated that the video only shows him grasping for his phone, which she had refused to return to him, according to TMZ.
]]> She has, of course, retorted back with photos of earlier injuries that were allegedly caused by Garrison. Reportedly, Mattingly didn't report them sooner, as she didn't want Garrison to be sent back to prison.Garrison is currently on parole, resulting from a 2007 DUI manslaughter conviction.
At this point, writes TMZ, no charges have yet been filed against Garrison, but the D.A.'s office is still investigating. Should charges be filed, he will likely face a parole revocation hearing.
When someone is under parole or probation, they are usually ordered to abstain from any criminal activity and often times, substance abuse. If a new crime is committed, or a drug or alcohol test is failed, the person is usually rearrested and brought before the judge, where they are either put behind bars or some other sanction is imposed.
For Lane Garrison, that could include serving the remainder of his sentence or having his parole extended for a longer period of time. He would also face whatever punishments may result from his alleged domestic violence incidents against Ashley Mattingly.
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He was probably okay with her absence, but his computer, containing sensitive information about his show, The X-Factor, and a wallet full of cash were also gone. His security system caught her on camera and the police were eventually able to recover the computer and wallet, sans cash.
]]> Cowell should have paid more attention to his fellow musicians' mistakes and learned from them. Lloyd Banks, a rapper from the G-Unit crew, had an entire album leak after one of the women that he participated in a ménage à trois with stole it and leaked it to the Internet, according to Hot97.com. His replacement album, Rotten Apple, did not do as well as hoped.As for Cowell's lady friend, she will probably face grand theft charges for both the computer and the wallet, as the value of the two combined was probably more than the $950 required by statute.
The penalty for grand theft depends on whether the prosecutor pushes for the felony charge or the misdemeanor charge. This often depends on the circumstances and criminal history of the offender. The penalty for the misdemeanor charge is up to a year in jail. For the felony version, the penalty can be up to three years in state prison.
Fortunately for Simon Cowell, it doesn't seem that any of the sensitive information from his television show, The X-Factor, was released. Otherwise, the loss could have been much more costly than a couple of items lifted off the table.
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And for those of you unfamiliar with the Bling Ring, it was a group of over-privileged teens who, with the help of a few friends from the hood, managed to rob the homes of some of Hollywood's biggest stars of millions of dollars worth of clothing, watches, and other neat stuff. They were eventually caught and either spent or are spending various amounts of time behind bars.
]]> Of course, Hollywood now wants to make it into a Sophia Coppola movie. To ensure accuracy, they have enlisted the aid of one of those convicted, Alexis Niers, to work on the movie, as well as the cop that arrested her, reports the Los Angeles Times. Niers allegedly participated in only one of the many robberies, supposedly due to intoxication, but was friends with the entire crew.So, do Son of Sam laws exist in California? If so, do they prevent the culprits from Calabasas from profiting off their pilfering?
Son of Sam laws have a long and constitutionally suspect history. The laws would basically impound any money made off of book deals or other notoriety deals and redirect the funds to the victim. New York passed the first version in response to the Son of Sam.
The New York law died at the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1991, after a mobster tried to sell his story. That story eventually became the Martin Scorsese film GoodFellas. The Court stated that the law was overbroad, chilled free speech, and had this law always been on the books, The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Eldridge Cleaver’s Soul on Ice would likely never have been written.
California, taking the Court’s opinion to heart, modified their existing law to narrow it. They failed. In 2001, the California Supreme Court applied the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling to the California revised law and struck it down for also being overbroad. California then passed what was known as the Son of Sam II Law.
The newest version, which is very specific as to its applicability, merely extends the statute of limitations for suing the perpetrator of a crime. It does not impound funds in advance, nor does it prevent someone from selling their story and spending all of the funds before they can be sued.
Unfortunately, for the victims of the Bling Ring, none of the crimes are covered by the current revision of the law. Only truly heinous crimes, such as murder, mayhem, rape, etc., are covered.
In the specific instance of Alexis Niers, the former reality television star, former model, former heroin addict, and felon, there is an existing restitution amount, payable to Orlando Bloom, of $600,000. The amount is tied into her criminal plea bargain. If she doesn’t pay the amount, she’ll go back to jail. For Bloom, the law is absolutely useless, as it doesn’t impound the money and he already has a judgment for what he lost in the crime.
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According to the Los Angeles Times, the story started long before the chase. Abdul Arian, according to his family, wanted to be a police officer. He attended the LAPD Explorer Academy, but was kicked out for disciplinary reasons. He continued to go to the gym to get into shape for a career in law enforcement and from his family's perspective, there were no warning signs of what was to come.
]]> Then one day, last week, Arian was driving erratically near a shopping center. When police tried to stop him, he took off at full speed. He called 911 from the 101 Freeway, warning the dispatcher that he had previously been arrested and wasn't afraid of the cops.He then warned her that he had a gun and would use it on the cops if he needed to. He also mentioned a previous arrest for possession of destructive devices.
When his car became disabled, he ran. But then he spun around and held something up towards the cops. To the officers, and the public watching on television, it appeared to be a gun. The position is referred to as a combat stance, something a prospective police officer might have been familiar with. Video, courtesy of CBS 2 news, can be found here.
Seconds later, he was dead. Believing that he was armed and dangerous, the cops emptied their clips at Abdul Arian. Reports say 90 rounds ended up in his body, which some might qualify as excessive. In all, 120 rounds were allegedly fired. 15 rounds are held in most extended capacity double stacked magazines. 8 officers emptied their magazines in a matter of seconds, from a distance away. The math adds up.
If the reported numbers are true, the officers likely rectively emptied their magazines in response to a credible threat. They didn't have time to think. They didn't stop and reload. For the cops, the feeling was probably "better safe than sorry." It is better to over-shoot someone than to under-shoot them and have them shoot back. For Abdul Arian's family, it was evidence of excessive force and police brutality.
In Section 1983 cases, the jury is tasked with determining whether the victim's rights were violated due to excessive force. The standard is subjective, per the circumstances of the incident. The question is simply, was the force reasonable under the circumstances?
For the jury, it will be a question of whether it was excessive for the officers to each empty their guns simultaneously at someone who had warned that he would shoot them and then made a menacing gesture.
For Abdul Arian, it might have simply been a case of suicide by cop.
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